"Hey Nami wake up." I open my eyes slightly and groggily look up. Sasuke is staring down at me with an annoyed look on his face. "You can't sleep all day." I slowly start to smile as I become more conscious. It's rare to wake up with Sasuke still in the house. Usually he's already out on a mission.

"I'm up" I murmur, crawling out of bed. As I get up I start to rememberwhat happened yesterday. I passed the ninja academy exam. I haven't shared the news with Sasuke yet. I jump out of bed smiling "Guess what big brother?"

Sasuke smirks. "I already heard, congratulations Nami, you're officially a genin now. My smile slightly falters. Sasuke is usually out on missions. We see each other a lot less than we used to. I was excited to be the first to tell him I graduated from the academy. How did he know? I feel Sasuke place his palm on my head.

He smiles "good job." It makes me forget my disappointment. "Now you will only get stronger."

I'm smiling again "Will you be home tonight big brother? I was hoping to celebrate after orientation."

"Yes" my eyes widen in surprise. "The chunin exams are in a few days and I will be free until then." I'm happy but also a little confused. This is the first time I've heard about the chunin exams.

"What? The chunin exams? You haven't even been a genin for a year."

"I know. That doesn't matter. The only things that matters is that it will get me one step closer to my goal."

"That's great." My smile is only half hearted. I don't like the idea of Sasuke going out and getting revenge. Ever since the night of the massacre Sasuke has changed. I don't really understand what happened to him. The only memories I have of that night is falling into a deep sleep after Itachi wished me goodnight. Sasuke has talked only about bits and pieces of that night. I don't think I'll ever know completely what happened. Now that it's been a few years I have come to accept how things are, but at first it was really hard. It's not exactly easy to be surrounded by family then suddenly live with just you brother, who is one year older. But, while it's true that things are difficult, I love him and would do almost anything for him. I know that Sasuke would do the same for me.

"Let's go eat" Sasuke says leaving the room. He even made breakfast it must be my lucky day.

While eating my rice and eggs I start asking Sasuke about the chunin exams. "Do you anyone who's participating?"

"No doubt that loser Naruto will but I don't know about Sakura. There were also a few people I met yesterday that are participating. The were very interesting."

"Really? Who?"

"His name is Gaara of the sand."

"Do you think he's strong brother?"

"I'll just have to find out won't I? He is someone I wouldn't mind fighting."

While he talks I glace at the clock and rush to my feet.

"Oh no I'm going to be late." I hurry to the door but Sasuke stops me.

"Aren't you forgetting something Nami?" Sasuke smirks, and points his thumb in the direction if his forehead. I'm immediately embarrassed. How could I forget my forehead protector?

I run back to my room to grab it. It's sitting in front of the Uchiha family portrait. I see my moms smiling face first. I can't help but think about her. Everyone always said I looked like her. The only big difference was that mom had blackish blue hair while mine is blackish brown. I brush my hair back and place my forehead protector where it belongs. I take one last look in the mirror. I look the same. The same blue skirt over white pants and blue shirt with a fishnet undershirt. My Uchiha crest necklace is where it's always been. But something feels different. I feel more confident and almost ready for anything. I am a ninja now. I can move forward and become someone great. I can become someone who has nothing to do with the Uchiha massacre.

"Bye Sasuke" I leave the house and jog to the academy

I take my seat with the other new genin waiting for Iruka Sensei to show up. There's a lot of excited chatter in the room. I sit quietly by myself. I think about the teammates I will have and who my sensei will be. The room gets suddenly quiet as Iruka Sensei enters.

Iruka is beaming "Welcome everyone. Today is the start of you new lives as ninja. I want to tell you all how proud I am to have all of you as my students. From this day forward you will each forge you own path. I know you will all do great things." I smile. Iruka always looks at life with hope and happiness. His attitude helped a lot when I first lost my parents and started going back to school.

When I think about my future, I hope it will be filled with peace, happiness, and family. But, that seems very unlikely. Sasuke has only ever wanted revenge. I try to be angry like him but I just can't. I know Itachi has done horrible things but I never experienced any of them. I only know him as my loving brother. It's hard to think of him as a murderer. My heart shutters, there is hope and then there is reality. It gives me more resolve to become strong and meet the new challenges ahead of me.

"I will now name the new genin squads." I eyes open and focus on Iruka. He calls out several names and small cheers and murmurs fill the room. Finally my name is called. "In squad 5 are Nami Uchiha, Isamu Senju, and Hiro Nara.

I didn't expect to be teamed with Isamu or Hiro. What I know about Hiro is he's extremely nice and will go out of his way to help people. His grades are average among the academy graduates but he has extensive knowledge on medicines. Isamu on the other hand is extremely strong and if I'm honest attractive. The girls would often watch him train. However, what Isamu has in strength he tends to lack in smarts. He doesn't talk that much. If I were to make a prediction he probably just passed the written portion of the genin graduation exam.

"Now that I've named the members of each squad we will take break for lunch," Iruka smiles. After lunch each team will meet their new instructor." The class is dismissed

Hiro gets up and approaches Isamu. After about a minute both Hiro and Isamu approach me. "Isamu and I are having lunch together. I thought it would be good to get to know each other. Would you like to join us?" Hiro asks.

I agree and we leave to find a spot under the shade of a tree. As we start eating Isamu speaks. "Should we talk about ourselves or something?"

"Sounds good to me." I respond. "I'll start. As you already know I'm Nami Uchiha. I often spend my time studying and practicing my ninja skills with my brother. I hope to become a strong ninja that can protect the people that are important to me." Hiro and Isamu nod.

"I'll go next" Hiro volunteers, "I guess I'll also start with my name. I'm Hiro Nara. I spend a lot of my time helping my parents in the medical research facility. It's up in the mountains so if you want to find me that's most likely where I'll be. I hope eventually to be able combine my ninja and medical skills to become a renowned medical ninja."

Isamu is the last to talk. "My name is Isamu Senju. I was born into the same clan as both the first and second Hokage. Many people expect me to become a great ninja so I'm often training. When I'm not training I work mainly on forging ninja swords. I plan of becoming a master ninja swordsman."

I didn't realize that Isamu knew so much about forging weapons or that Hiro works with the medical research team. I realize that we are very different people and we still have a lot to learn about each other. Our differences in battle will either be to our advantage or disadvantage. It all really depends on our teamwork. I would like to talk more but lunch is over. We clean up and head back to the classroom.

We all sit by team waiting for our instructors. The first jonin to arrive is beautiful. Her hair is red and cropped short. Her eyes are dark brown and in complete contrast with her hair. She wears a ninja jacket over a white dress. I can tell that, just like me, most of the students are staring at her

"Hello everyone" she says, "I'm looking for squad 5." This is a surprise; she's definitely not what I expected when I thought of who my sensei would be. But then again I can only really think of Kakashi. He's the only one of Sasuke's team I've actually met and the only person I know that is a squad leader.

We head into the hallway. "I'm Emiko and it's nice to meet all of you." Emiko smiles speaking softly. "Let's head to the rooftop where we can properly talk without disturbing everyone."

We walk to the roof and once we get settled Hiro, Isamu, and I introduce ourselves.

After that Emiko sensei introduces herself "I'm Emiko Genju. As your new instructor I want to warn you all that I'm very strict. I have high expectations and will not go easy on you. However, with that being said, if there is ever a time when any of you need help I will be there. As an older sister I've learned that you can't expect people to be perfect without proper guidance."

Emiko sensei seems dependable. She's definitely not the soft-spoken person I thought she was. I hope she can help me awaken my Sharingan. Now that Sasuke has awakened his Sharingan he'll need someone to practice with. If I awaken mine then we can practice using our Sharingan together.

"Now that we know each other I'm going to start talking about our first assignment," Emiko sensei states. "This is the genin certification exam. If you do not pass this assignment you will lose the right to become a ninja."

Sasuke had told me about the genin certification exam so I'm only a little worried. I look over and Isamu doesn't seem nervous. Hiro looks a little more nervous but he seems to be doing fine.

"You'll be working as a team in a series of trails. The number of trials you will need to complete are three. Each trial will be assessing a certain skill. I will not disclose which skills will be assessed but rest assured it will challenge each of you." These trails don't faze me. If Sasuke can pass so can I. "I expect each of you to be at training ground 3 at 7 a.m. sharp." Without saying anything else Emiko sensei then dismisses us.

As we head down the hall Hiro places a hand on Isamu's shoulder. "You don't need to worry any, we will pass no problem."

I didn't realize that Isamu was so nervous. "Yeah" I say. "We'll be fine. We are going through these trials as a team. The weakness of one member can be counteracted by the strengths of the other two. I'm not worried." Isamu and Hiro look more relieved. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

When I get home Sasuke decided he's taking me to Sushuya's. I'm starving and I'm really excited to go. It's a Chinese place known for its amazing food. It's one of my favorite places to eat.

After our orders are placed Sasuke starts asking about my day. "What do you think of your new teammates? Do you like your sensei?"

"They seem fine," I respond, "I don't know them very well yet. Hiro is nice and Isamu is polite. Emiko seems very blunt but also caring. I think she's like most jonin. I'm excited to train and awaken my Sharingan. Then I'll be just like you big brother."

Sasuke looks strait at me. "Nami, although becoming a genin has helped me become stronger it isn't the only reason my Sharingan was awakened."

"What do you mean brother?"

"I mean there is something that happens to awaken the Sharingan. Don't ask me what because it's too difficult to explain. You'll understand when you awaken your Sharingan. But enough of the serious talk today is supposed to be about your graduation.

I'm happy. As I begin to ask Sasuke what he did all day I hear yelling outside the window. It's hard to ignore because we are sitting right next to it.

"But Saukra!"

"I don't want to hear it Naruto I said no. You . . .Sasuke is that you?"

It seems I'm finally going to get to meet Sasuke's teammates.

Authors Notes:

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. People have been asking for longer chapters so I ended up combining chapters I have already written to accommodate that request for future readers. I am constantly looking for new ideas and ways to improve and would love to hear your feedback. Thank you!